VISITING ENTOMOFAUNA OF GLEDITSIA TRIACANTHOS L. - LEGUM/NOSAE DUR/NG /TS FLOWERING PERIOD
Keywords:
Pollination, Bee, Flowers visitors, Insecta, BirdsAbstract
Studies on Gleditsia triacanthos L. (Leguminosae) reproduction.fenology, diversity,freqüency and constancy of floral visitors at different hours were carried out. A test for manual pollination shows that G. triacanthos is autocompatible, but xenogamia is the predominant system of reproduction which suggests the need of a pollinating agent. A large diversity of insects visiting the injlorescences was observed, with a predominance of bees. Four insect orders were observed: Hymenoptera 88,4% and 8,3% consisted of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera. Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 and Trigona spinipes (Fabricius, 1793) were the most frequent and constant bee species. These generalist bees carry ou/ the pollination when they collect the pollen; especially when the frequency of the ejfective pollinator was low or absent. Due to lhe concentration of sugar in the nectar (40%), pollen abundance and size of lhe jlowers, lhe medium-sized more efficient pol!inators were verified such as Megachilidae bees: Megachile (Pseudocentron) terrestris Schrottkyi, 1902 and Megachile (Chrysosarus) pseudoanthidioides Moure. G. triacanthos jlowers were also visited by birds (3.4%): hummingbirds Eupetomena macroura(Gmelin, 1788), Clorostilbon aureoventris (d· Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838) and Amazilia sp (Trochilidae); Pitangus sulfuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) and Myiornis ecaudatus (d' Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 183 7) (Tyranidae). The frequency and insect distribution were injluenced significantly by environmental factors: temperature, light, time, barometric pressure, relative humidity and wind velocity.
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References
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